House-door letter-box



(No Mo-devl.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J.-H. WOLFSHEIMER.

HOUSE DOOR LETTER BOX. i No. 484,985. Patented Oot. 25, 1892.

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(N O Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

`J. H. WOLPSHEIMER. EOUsE DOOE LETTEE BOX.

' No. 484,985. Patented Oct. 25, 1892.

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'i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOEL H. VOLFSI-IEIMER, OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA.

HOUSE-DOOR LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 484,985, dated October 25, 1892.

' Application filed June 30, 1892- Serial No. 438,502. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOEL H. WoLEsHEIMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at- Leesburg, in the county of Loudoun and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in House-Door Letteroxes, of which the following is a specificaion.

This invention relates to an improvement in house-door letter-boxes.

One object is to provide for putting an electric bell in operation when the fiapper is opened.

Another object is to adapt the box both for the delivery and collection of mail through a single opening in the house-door.

To this end the invention consists in the novel features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l shows an outside view of a portion of the door of a building with my improved letter-box arrangement applied. Fig. 2 shows an inside view of the same. Fig. 3 shows a vertical section through the middle of the door and box. Fig. 4 shows an inside view with the box removed and the flapper closed. Fig. 5 shows a similar view with the ilapper open. Fig. 6 shows a horizontal cross-section taken on line 6 6, Fig. 5, and looking downward.

The letter A designates the door of a building, in which door is a horizontal slot oropening a. A iapper B, which is in the form of a metal plate, and may therefore be utilized as a door-plate, is hinged in the said opening a by means of a lug b, formed upon it, lugs b formed on a plate C, which is fastened on the bottom of the opening a, and a pintle c, passing through said lugs. The said tlapperplate shuts against the door A and carries a sliding bolt d at its upper part on the-inner side, said bolt fitting through suitable guides d and actuated upward by a spiral springe, placed around it and bearing at one end against the lower guide-piece CZ and at the other end against a pin fin the bolt. This pin extends through a slot in the plate B and has a but-ton and knob g on its end, by which to push it down and release the bolt. A keeper in the form of a plate h with a hole in it is fastened to the upper side of the opening a, and the bolt CZ engages in the hole of said plate to hold the tlapper closed. A pocket D', extending downward from the bottom 0f the opening d, contains a spiral spring D, and the [iapper B has a rearward-extending lip t', bearing on said spring and depressing it while the fiapper is closed. When the tlapper is released by pressing down the button or knob g, the spiral spring D throws said tlapper open by expanding against the lip t'. A suitable electric battery E is located, inside the building and is here shown attached to the door A. The circuit-wires j j from this battery connect with an electric bell F, also shown attached to the door. One of the wires j of the circuit passes below the tlapper and is here divided.

vvIn a chamber G in the door A, below the Ilapper, are contact-pieces 7c Z, one of which k is the terminal of one end of the wirej and the other Z the terminal of the other end of said wire. The terminal Zt has a rigid outward-extending contact-arm Zt', and the terminal Z has a lateral spring-arm Z extending below the arm Zo and tending byits resiliency to Contact therewith. A pin l-I extends down through the spiral spring D in the pocket D and through an opening m into the chamber G, its lower end bearing on the spring contact-arm Z. The lip fZ of the flapper-plate B bears upon the upper end of the pin H and presses it down so that it holds the arm Z out of contact with the arm Zt', and the circuit is thus broken. Upon the opening of the tlapper, however, the pin His freed and the spring-arm Z pushes it upward and contacts with the arm Zt', thus closing the circuit and setting the bell to ringing. A box I is secured to the inside of the door A, and has an opening a in its front side, registering with the opening d in said door. Said box is divided into an upper and a lower compartment .I J by a horizontal tilting partition K, which is pivoted at its middle part and so located that its forward end may be at the upper or the lower side of the opening d a. There is a receiving-slot or opening L in the top of the box for matter to be deposited in the upper compartment J, such 'matter falling on the partition K. This partition is iitted so closely to the sides of the box that the weight of the mail-matter upon it will IOO not tilt it, but it is necessary to move it from one position to the other by hand, and this is done by the carrier.

The operation is as follows: Matter to be collected by the carrier is deposited through the slot L into the upper compartment .I of the box. The carrier presses down the button or knob g, the lapper flies open and the bell sounds, as heretofore explained, to inform the occupants of the building of the arrival ofmail. If the partition K is not already tilted so that it inclines toward the front with the forward edge at the bottom of the opening a', the carrier will tilt it to such position. The matter in the upper compartment slides down said partition and out. of the opening a, and is thus collected by the carrier. After this matter has been removed the carrier will tilt the partition up by inserting his fingers under its front end to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3, the front edge being at the upper side of the opening d. Now the carrier deposits the mail he has to deliver through the opening d and it falls into the lower compartment J. He will then close up the dapper, which breaks the circuit and stops the ringing of the bell. Thelower compartment J of the box has a hinged door M, through which the matter delivered by the carrier may be removed. Said door will have a lock M', and will also have a glass front N, so that it can be seen whether the box eontains any mail without opening the door.

It will be seen that the box serves both tor delivery and collection of ymail and that one opening in the house-door serves forboth purposes; also, the occupants of the house are notified of the arrival of the carrier by the ringing of the bell. This arrangement also insures safety from theft of the mails, as the fiapper cannot be opened without causing' the bell to ring and thus giving the alarm.

It will be seen the arrangement of parts is such that the carrier may very quickly co1- lectand deliver the mail at each box.

While the battery and bell are here shown attached to the door, it is evident they may be located at any other places desired, suitable connections being provided between them and the door to allow for the movement of the latter on its hinges.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Ilett'ers Patent, is-

l. In a house-door letter-box arrangement, the combination of the door having an opening, an electric battery, a bell in the circuit thereof, a springarm in the circuit and arranged to make and break the same, a hinged dapper in the opening through the housedoor and spring-actuated to an open position, said dapper controlling` the said make and break arm, and a latch to hold said iiapper closed and operated from the exterior of the door to release the flapper.

2. In a house-door letter-box arrangement, the combination of the door having an opening, an electric battery, a bell in the circuit thereof, a spring-arm in the circuit and arranged to make and break the same, a hinged dapper in the opening through the housedoor and spring-actuated to an open position, said tlappercontrolling the said make and break arm, and a sliding spring-actuated bolt arranged to hold the dapper closed, said bolt having a projection extending to the outside of the house-door and there provided with a button or knob, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a house-door letter-box arrangement, the combination of the house-door having an opening, an electric battery, a bell in the circuit of said battery, a spring-arm constituting the terminai of a wire of said battery and arranged to contact with another terminal and thereby close the circuit, a sliding pin bearing on said spring-arm, a hinged tlapper in the opening through the house-door and havin g a part which bears against the said sliding pin when the tlapper is closed and thereby holds the said arm out of contact with the other terminal, a spring for throwing thetlapper open, and a latch for holding it closed, said latch operated 'from the outside of the house-door to release the dapper.

4. In a house-door letterbox arrangement, the combination of the house-door having an opening, an electric battery, a bell in the circuit of said battery, a spring-arm located below the said opening in the house-door and constituting the terminal of a wire of said battery and arranged to contactwith another terminal,and thereby close the circuit,a sliding pin bearing on said spring-arm, a dapper hinged at the lower side of the openingin the house-door and having a part which bears on the said sliding pin when the ilapper is closed and thereby holds the said arm out of contact with the other terminal, a spiral spring in a pocket in the housedoor -and fitting around the slidingpin and depressed by the said part ofthe tlapper which bears on said pin, and a latch for holding the tlapper closed, said latch operated from the outside of the house-door to release the tlapper.

5. In a house-door letter-box arrangement, the combination of the house-door having a horizontal slot or opening and a tlapper to close the same, a box secured to the door and having a reccivingslot in its upper part, and a horizontal tilting partition dividing said box into two compartments and pivoted at its middle part, said partition so located that its front edge may be at the lower or the upper side of the opening in thehouse-door and may constitute a slideway from the receiving-slot in the box to the said opening in the door.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

J OEL II. IVOLFSIIEIMER.

Witnesses:

JNO. T. MADDOX, F. PARKER Davis.

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